"We won't be able to get any help from the defensive line here."
Colonel Drivick smiled bitterly at his adjutant, Lieutenant Weedlake. "While our weapons and soldiers are many times stronger than the Nasri's, the terrain here in Durmele is of no help to us. The enemy's advantage in numbers is too obvious. Let the 28th Battalion retreat and let the reserve 7th Brigade come forward to reinforce them …"
Thundercrash's 2nd Division's 7th Line had been besieged by a Nasri corps since the morning of the 17th of the 10th month. If the enemy was just a division, they should be able to hold their ground even if it was flat ground.
However, the enemy had mobilized an entire corps of troops right from the start, and they were flanking them from the front and the left and right flanks. Like a rising tide, they launched wave after wave of attacks, putting a lot of pressure on the 7th Regiment's defensive position.
The so-called defensive line was nothing more than a few trenches dug on the flat ground and built by relying on a small river that was half a meter deep.
Judging from the terrain, this defensive position did not give the 7th Regiment much of a defensive bonus. At most, it reduced the casualties of the soldiers and provided a place to hide before the enemy's grenades and cannons bombarded them.
However, in the face of the enemy's never-ending wave-like attacks, the soldiers defending the position still paid a heavy price.
It had to be said that Ducklind was more courageous than Vedario, who had fought Thundercrash before. He also knew how to command better.
The Nasrians no longer used the traditional formation to advance. Instead, they formed a line of soldiers and charged towards the defensive line. When they were 200 metres away, they would crawl on the ground and crawl forward. Only when they were 70 to 80 metres away did they start firing at Thundercrash.
At the same time, the Nasri army had abandoned the wooden carts and shield carts, instead placing the catapults and light cannons behind the charging infantry. As soon as they were within firing range, they would start firing or throwing projectiles at the defensive position. This was the main reason for the defenders' casualties.
War could make even fools smarter. The Alliance army, which had suffered at the hands of the Monolith Army, had now come up with a much improved attack plan.
While the new rifles and cannons Thundercrash was equipped with were powerful, the Nasrians' offensive strategy had left the 7th Line in a state of disarray.
The skirmish caused the cannons to lose their lethality. A single shell could only kill a single digit number of enemies, and the enemy could afford to pay such a price.
The crawling attack from 200 metres away made it much more difficult for the soldiers in the trenches to aim.
Some of the Nasrian soldiers even piled the corpses of their comrades in front of them as cover. Firing from a distance of seventy to eighty meters, even with muskets, posed a fatal threat to the soldiers of Thundercrash who were defending the defensive position.
There were also the grenades and light cannons behind the charging infantry. They were spread out, making it difficult for the cannons to aim and fire. They would need to fire a few shots to hit a single target. At the same time, they had to be on guard against the grenades and cannons fired by the enemy.
Even though Nasri's army had suffered several times the casualties of 7th Line, it was still insignificant compared to their massive army.
7th Line of Thundercrash's 2nd Line, commanded by Colonel Drivick, could only retreat as they fought, slowly wearing down the Nasrians' morale.
In any case, Claude's order wasn't for them to defend to the death. Instead, it was for them to lure the enemy to Polivisia.
From morning till evening, 7th Line finally broke away from contact with the enemy.
Based on calculations, the enemy had lost two lines of men and 7th Line had lost close to a battalion. That was about a quarter of their force.
Colonel Drivick was rather troubled. He didn't know how much of 7th Line would be left after the five-day deadline.
Thundercrash's 2nd Line's mission was to stop the enemy. Like 7th Line, the four main lines were to open up a defensive line to stop the enemy's advance.
7th Line's mission was to defend the left flank of the defensive line. Facing an attack from the enemy alone, they were under much more pressure than 5th and 6th Line.
However, Colonel Drivick still completed his mission perfectly and kept up with the retreat of the defensive line.
At night, Berklin commanded 1st Line to attack and cause some trouble for the enemy. At the very least, they couldn't let the enemy rest in peace.
Just like Claude said, even though they were our enemies, we had to care about their physical and mental health. We would fire a few cannons at night to remind them to pee.
During the day, when the 2nd Thunderclap Division was carrying out the blocking battle, the 1st Thunderclap Division continued to dig trenches in the rear to serve as a defensive position for the 2nd Thunderclap Division to continue attacking the enemy the next day.
At the same time, they had to send a light cavalry line to monitor the enemy's movements to prevent the three Canasian light cavalry lines from flanking and ambushing them from the rear.
But at night, Claude praised Colonel Drivick in division HQ. 7th Line had suffered the least casualties. The other three lines were also facing an attack from the enemy. Their blood was boiling and they even fought back a few times.
While they dealt a heavy blow to the enemy, they also suffered more casualties.
6th Line lost more than 2,000 men and was almost half-crippled.
Claude was furious. "This is Nasri territory. No matter how heavy the enemy's casualties are, they can still be replenished.
As for our soldiers, every casualty means one less soldier. Every soldier is a precious fighting force!
Don't forget what we said when we left the dominion. Try to bring back our soldiers alive and kicking and not cold urns of ashes. "
After venting his frustrations, Claude began discussing and summarizing the lessons learned from the battle with the officers of 2nd Folk.
"We lack the weapons to deal with the enemy's lines.
Colonel Drivick was the first to speak. "While the new cannons are good, they can't fire canister shells. The enemy infantry within a hundred metres of us can't do anything to them.
Also, while our soldiers are equipped with steel helmets to reduce casualties, it doesn't allow us to escape unscathed.
The enemy has also learned how to provide cover. They use the corpses of their comrades and sandbags to block the shots. That's when we have to use our grenades to attack.
But the trenches are too small and aren't suitable for the grenades. "
Thundercrash was indeed too careless. None of them expected the enemy to use such a method of attack.
Everyone thought they could just lie in the trenches and use the enemy as targets, preventing them from getting within a hundred metres of the defensive line.
However, they hadn't expected that the enemy would also learn from the experience of the battlefield. Their method of attack was clearly to use their superior numbers to exhaust Thundercrash's strength and ammunition, and at the same time, reduce the casualties of the attacking troops.
"We should set up the old light cannons at the frontlines to deal with the enemy's lines.
Also, we need to set up light grenades in the trenches to bombard the enemy infantry that crawls forward.
The new cannons should be used to deal with the enemy's grenades and cannons first to eliminate the threat to our defensive line, "another commander said, gaining the approval of the other officers.
Claude nodded. "We've already made some improvements. Currently, the 30,000 captives of the field division are working overnight to improve the positions you will be defending tomorrow.
I believe that the enemy will regret using today's attack again tomorrow. My request is that you should reduce your own casualties while dealing a large number of casualties to the enemy.
You can retreat at around three in the afternoon and we will set up a new defensive line 15 kilometres away.
Remember, fight as you retreat. The final battle will be under the city.
The real enemy we have to face is the five Shiksan corps at the back, not these Nasrian cannon fodder. "
Had it not been for the night raid that wiped out the thirty to forty thousand vanguard troops of the alliance, Thundercrash would have had an extra 30,000 captives.
If that was the case, Claude might really choose to retreat with Thundercrash and find a chance to wipe out the enemy while they were moving.
However, with the extra 30,000 captives, Claude thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to use them as labour to fight a few more battles against the alliance.
One was to use the power of the new weapons to reduce the enemy's numbers and test the alliance's resolve in the final battle.
As expected, Shiks used the five corps of Nasrian to serve as cannon fodder.
As the victor of the two princes' fight for the throne, Ducklind naturally put in a lot of effort and took over the defensive position Thundercrash had set up in a single day.
The only thing Claude wasn't satisfied with was the heavy casualties suffered by 2nd Folk. There were more than five thousand casualties in total. That was almost a full line's worth of manpower.
Even though they suffered more casualties than casualties, it still affected 2nd Folk's combat power.
As for the five Nasrian corps that launched the attack, they suffered around 70,000 casualties. With a casualty rate of one in five, their attack tomorrow would be less spirited.
The sound of cannons rumbled in the distance and a few hundred flaming long-barrelled rockets shot through the air.
Claude knew that Berklin was leading Thundercrash 1st Folk to launch a night attack on the Nasrian army that had taken up defensive positions.
However, to Claude's surprise, the sound of cannons stopped very quickly. The long-barreled rockets didn't fire either. Instead, intense gunshots rang out.
Not long after, Mason Hughes barged into the tent with a piece of bad news. Thundercrash 1st Folk had been ambushed by three Canasian light cavalry folk and were currently in the middle of a fierce battle.
What was worse was that the enemy had planned this from the start. They used the night as a cover to ambush the Canasian light riders at the side.
When Berklin led 1st Folk to attack, he split his troops into battalions. So, when they were ambushed by the enemy light cavalry, they couldn't gather their forces at all and suffered heavy losses.
Claude knocked his head with his fist. He was too careless again. Even the stupidest enemy would be prepared for a night attack.
The soldiers of Thundercrash, on the other hand, were used to thinking that the enemy would just stay in their camp and take a beating. They didn't expect the enemy to set up a trap for a counterattack. They had suffered a huge loss this time.
By the time the 2nd Thundercrash Division had been dispatched to reinforce the 1st Thundercrash Division, they discovered that the 1st Thundercrash Division had suffered more than 12,000 casualties. Almost two of their main combat regiments had been lost, and even Berklin had been stabbed in the left shoulder and was covered in blood.
Fortunately, his life wasn't in danger. Perunt, who rushed over, said that he was lucky. If the slash had been a little more diagonal and a little more force, Berklin would have become a one-armed general.
Fortunately, Berklin's guards came to the rescue in time and cut down the Canasian light cavalry that had charged in front of Berklin's horse, saving his arm.
After bandaging the wound, Perunt said that Berklin would have to rest for half a year in order to save his arm. Only then could the wound heal.
That meant that Berklin had to be sent to the rear and couldn't stay on the frontlines any longer.
Claude was rather depressed that he was ambushed in the middle of the night and his trusted subordinates were injured.
The only thing that cheered him up was that 2nd Folk came to the rescue in time. They killed a large number of Canasian light cavalry with their ferocious firepower. They were currently tallying the enemy casualties and estimated that it was no less than a folk's loss.
There were two other pieces of bad news. Due to the sudden arrival of the three Canasian light cavalry folk, 1st Folk was caught off guard and suffered a huge loss right from the start. Two of their battalions were wiped out and they lost quite a number of new rifles and cannons.
Claude could only wave his hand. It was impossible for the new rifles and cannons not to suffer losses on the battlefield, but the losses they suffered tonight were unexpected.
However, it couldn't be helped even if the enemy copied the new rifles and cannons. What mattered was whether the enemy could prevent the gunpowder invented by Madam Sonia.
There wasn't much chemistry or physics research in this world. Most of the time, rune magi experimented with alchemical formations.
Therefore, for some secret materials, if one did not know the details of the formula, it would be very difficult to imitate the exact same materials.
That was perhaps the strangeness and selfishness of Faslan. It wasn't like the modern world of Claude's past, where science and discoveries were widely known.
That was also why the table of chemical elements, various physical and mathematical theories and formulas were created. That was why scientists were able to step on the shoulders of scientific giants and lead the development of civilization and technology.
But here, every Rune Magician hid their discoveries and inventions in their own minds. Laws were not easily passed down, and knowledge like physics and chemistry were rarely taught to the students in schools because of the monopoly of knowledge among the upper class of the various countries.
Aueras, for example, promoted universal education, but it was still a policy to fool the people.
It was no wonder that the nations of the continent were still playing with muskets and that scientific research seemed to have stopped in time.
After snapping out of his daze, Claude asked about the attack on 1st Folk.
It was actually very simple. Berklin habitually ordered the four light cavalry regiments under him to split into four directions. Then, with a battalion as a combat unit, they bombarded the enemy's positions and camps with cannons and launched long-barrelled rockets to harass the enemy's camp.
Nobody expected that the three Canasian light cavalry lines would be lying in ambush. They split into three arrowheads and attacked Thundercrash's left and center.
The darkness of the night made Thundercrash forget about the Canasian light cavalry. By the time they noticed the enemy attack, they were already very close to each other. 1st Folk's battalions weren't able to stop the enemy light cavalry at all.
They didn't even have time to reload their rifles after their magazines were emptied. Most of them just drew their sabers and started hacking at one another.
Berklin was swept into the battlefield just like that. He didn't even have time to send a signal for the two lines to gather.
The light cavalry of Canas made use of the night to engage the soldiers of Thundercrash. Without the fear of being a target, they fought fiercely. Thundercrash's 1st Folk suffered the most casualties at this moment.
Fortunately, 2nd Folk's reinforcements arrived quickly. They fired their rifles to cut off the Canasian light cavalry's reinforcements and forced the enemy to retreat.
Perhaps it was the Canasian light cavalry's victory last night that boosted their morale or the generous rewards promised by the alliance, the Nasrian infantry attacked even more ferociously the next day.
However, Thunderclap's 2nd Division had long since been prepared. They intentionally lured the enemy to attack, and every time the enemy could no longer hold on and wanted to retreat, they would give up a line of defense. This made the enemy feel that they could take down all the defensive positions if they put in a bit more effort, causing them to overlook their own casualties.
When Thundercrash finally gave up and retreated, the high-ranking officers of Nasri realised that their four corps had lost more than half their men and were no longer able to fight.
More than 200,000 soldiers were thrown into a frenzy and fought for an entire day. By the time they took over the enemy's defences, they realised that they only had around 100,000 soldiers left. The battlefield was littered with Nasrian corpses and wounded soldiers, but the enemy had taken away all of them.
After that battle, Nasri no longer had the strength to fight. Their remaining forces could only be formed into two disorganized corps.
Now, it was up to the five standing corps of Shiks to take the field. Surprisingly, Thundercrash didn't set up any more defences to stop the alliance's advance. Instead, they quickly retreated to the capital and even abandoned the 30,000 captives.
However, those captives were also cut in the thighs. Not only could they not be of help to the alliance, they were also a burden to the alliance.
The Shiksan commander and high-ranking officers of the alliance all believed that Thundercrash had used up too much ammunition and suffered too many casualties. So, they had no choice but to give up and retreat to the capital.
That was the best opportunity for the alliance. They had to catch up to them as soon as possible before Thundercrash packed up their belongings and left the capital.